Pipe or tube rolling



. 25, 1939. 5 FINDLATER" 1 2,167,418

PIPE OR TUBE ROLLING Filed Jan. 21, 1937 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 [me-74hr:5TEI/EN5ON HA/DLA/TEE,

July25,1939. S.FINDLATER 2,167,418

PIPE OR TUBE ROLLING Filed Jan. 21, 1957 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 ZMM 3Sheets-Sheet 3 S FINDLATER PIPE 0R TUBE ROLLING Filed .Jan. 21, 1937 w wJ m m /w, m

ZTEI ENSON HNDL/JT E July 25, 1939.

. Patented July 25, 1939 PIPE OR TUBE ROLLING Stevenson Findlater,McKeesport, Pa., assignor to National Tube Company, a corporation of NewJersey Application January 21, 1937, Serial No. 121,660

2 Claims.

This invention relates to the rolling of tubes and, more particularly,to a'novel method and apparatus. for internally lubricating tubes whilebeing rolled.

In the art of rolling pipes or tubes it has hitherto been the practiceto roll the pierced or tubular blank over a plug. This has resulted insevere wear on the plug and scratches on the interior surface of thetubular blank. Various attempts have been made to overcome thesedifficulties. The most common expedient is to station a man at the inletside of the mill whose duty it is to place a small quantity of coal dustor salt in the tubular blank just prior to the insertion ofthe plug. Dueto the heat of the tubular blank, combustion immediately takes place,and consequently very little lubricating effect is obtained, and thatonly for a short. distance from the end thereof.

It is accordingly an object of my invention to provide a novel methodand apparatus for efliciently lubricating the interior of tubular blanksduring the rolling thereof.

It is-a further object of my invention to provide a novel apparatus forcontinuously and automatically lubricating tubular blanks while beingrolled.

The foregoing and further objects will be apparent after referring tothe drawings in which:

Figures 1 and 1a are longitudinal sectional elevations of the apparatusof the invention;

Figures 2 and 3 are fragmentary sectional elevations of part of theapparatus of Figure 1 but showing the same in two distinct workingpositions;

In the drawings, the letter A designates a pair of plug mill rollsadapted to roll a tubular blank B by drawing it over the improved plug.of the apparatus of my invention. The numeral 2 designates a plug barhaving plug 6 disposed thereon.

A bore 3 communicates with a plurality of apertures 5 which are directedrearwardly'at a point adjacent the plugli so that fluid forced throughthe apertures 5 will be directed on'the blank B just prior to itscontact with the plug member 6.

The rear end 1 of the pl bar 2 is ap to be rec'iprocably disposed withina sleeve 8 having a valve seat 9 and valve'chamber l0 therein. A valve ll, reciprocably mounted in valve chamber i0. seats on the valve seat 9and is normally held in contact therewith by a valve spring 12 heldwithin the chamber ID by a hollow plug l 3 within a sleeve I4, thelatter being suitably secured to the sleeve 8. A valve stem Ila isconnected to 6 the valve II and extends forwardly therefrom through thevalve seat 9 and is engaged by the rear end I of the plug bar 2 wheninserted within the sleeve 8, so that the forward end of sleeve 8contacts a shoulder 4 on the plug 6.

The foregoing elements are carried by a man- 5 drel bar H which extendsinto the rolls A.

concentrically disposed within the mandrel bar I! and secured withinthesleevel l are concentrically disposed telescoped pipes l5 and Hi. Theinner pipe i5 is secured to the hollow plug l3 and 10 the outer pipe I6is secured to the sleeve M. The sleeve I4 has apertures l8 therein whichallow egress of cooling fluid delivered through the pipe The rear end IQof the mandrel bar I! is ex- 15 panded and has secured thereto a hollowbar 20 concentrically disposed over the telescoped pipes l5 and I6 sothat cooling fluid delivered 1 through the pipe l6 and apertures I8 isreturned through the passageway between the pipe I6, mandrel bar I! andthe hollow bar 20.

The outer pipe [6 is connected to a suitable source of cooling fluid bya coupling 23 and pipe- 24. The innerpipe l5 extends through and beyondthe coupling 23 and a stuifing box 25. The 25 extended end 26 of theinner pipe I5 is connected to a reservoir 21 in which a suitablelubricating fluid 28 is contained under pressure.

In operation it will be seen that the lubricating fluid 28 is forcedunder pressure to the valve H 30 which is normally held closed by thevalve-spring [2. However, when the workpiece is forced into contact withthe plug 6, the valve stem Ila is engaged by the end of plug-bar 2,opening the valve II and permitting the lubricating fluid to 5 passthrough the bore 3, thence through the apertures 5 and onto the entireinner circumference of the workpiece just prior to its contact with theplug 6.

I have found that heated tar, due to its heavy 40 body, is a verysatisfactory lubricating fluid for this purpose but numerous lubricatingoils will produce excellent results.

While I have shown and described one specific embodiment of myinvention, it will be understood 5 that I do not wish to be'limitedexactly thereto, since various modifications may be made withoutdeparting from the scope of my invention, as

defined by the following claims.

I claim: 50

1. In an apparatus for interiorly supporting and lubricating tubularblanks while being rolled, a mandrel bar, a plug bar reciprocablymounted 'on the forward end of said mandrel bar, said plug bar having abore and a plurality of apertures tures adjacent the forward end thereofwhich communicate with said bore, said mandrel bar having a valvechamber adjacent the rearward end of said plug bar, a valve in saidchamber, means for supplying a fluid under pressure to said valvechamber, and a spring-biased valve in said chamber having a stem engagedby said plug bar, said valve being operable to open position by thepressure of a work-piece against a plug carried by said plug bar.

STEVENSON FINDLATER.

